DJI only sells the aircraft body.
True. You can buy all of the parts and build a new P3P. It won't save you money though.
Thanks all. Decided to buy new and sell the controller on ebay. This is definitely going to eat into christmas, but it had to be done.
Instead of listing the controller on eBay, you should considering selling on craigslist (or list on both, as you can always remove from one if it sells from the other). As for "eating into Christmas", one never knows. In the end, you could find yourself, and your family, blessed when you least expect it.
I do think it's a shame DJI doesn't want to sell BNF phantoms. It would be a big incentive to pick up a 2nd unit.
The only problem I see with that idea...and, honestly, it's a big one...is this. How many RC transmitters have you seen that have a USB port, HDMI port, & microUSB port? Since there's no way to add DJI's HDMI upgrade board to a non-DJI transmitter, any 3rd-party transmitter would have to already have all three (plus, even then, you'd be losing that fourth port, whatever DJI ends up using it for). Then there's the other buttons/switches to consider. While most 8-channel, & above, transmitters have switches, all the ones I've seen use 2-way switches, not 3-way. I agree that a BNF version would be a great idea, but, as far as I can see, you'd lose certain functions in doing so.